Beijing will repair the Simatai section of the Great Wall next year, which allures many foreigners for its quietness, according to the municipal government.

An investment of 120 million yuan (US$15 million) has been set aside for the renovation of that Simaitai section of the Great Wall, the Cave Man site at Zhoukoudian, the Imperial Taimiao Temple in the Working People's Palace and other cultural relics, the Beijing News Thursday cited Mei Ninghua, head of Beijing bureau of culture relics, as saying.

The ruinous state of Simatai Wall gives it an air of authenticity that has earned it the reputation of being the most beautiful section of the Great Wall.

An additional attraction is that as Simatai is some 130 km to the north-east of Beijing it is well beyond the reach of the huge crowds of tourists that throng the more popular and accessible parts of the Wall.

Beijing issued rules for protecting the Great Wall in 2003, which forbid climbing sections of the Great Wall that have not been approved open to visitors and commercial activities including illegally charging tourists.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has allocated special funds for the restoration of the Great Wall, such as the sections at Badaling and Mutianyu in outskirtan Beijing, since the 1980s.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2005)